Sir Alexander Craufurd

Initially mortgagee and then owner of Grenville Vale on Grenada, and through his wife's family the Crokatts also interested in slave-property in Jamaica. Son of Quintin Craufurd of Newark and his wife Ann Robinson, probably born in Ayrshire (see entry for his brother Quintin Craufurd, q.v.).

1. Will of Sir Alexander Craufurd of Brighthelmstone proved 04/04/1798. In the will he left £2000 each to his daughters Cecilia and Louisa, as well as an annuities to each of them of £100 p.a. out of the rents and profits of his Grenville Vale estate and all the 'negroes and stock thereupon or thereto belonging'. He gave his son Robert all the money advanced to him [Robert] before his return from the East Indies, and he left his sons John, Quinton, Daniel, Alexander and William £5 each [this was not it appears intended as punitive: in a codicil he described his son William as beloved after the latter's death, by which Sir Alexander Craufurd inherited some £1200 from the estate of James Crokatt]. He left Grenville Vale to his eldest son James. In a codicil of 1796, he left the leasehold of a house he had recently purchased in Hertford Street to Cecilia and Louisa.

2. In the will of Sir Alexander Craufurd's father-in-law James Crokatt proved in 18/03/1777, James Crokatt said that he stood to succeed to an estate in Jamaica that had belonged to his late brother Daniel Crokatt. Daniel Crokatt was mortgagee-in-possession of Heart's Ease/George's Valley 1758-59 and Sir Alexander Craufurd (given as Crawford) was mortgagee-in-possession 1792-3.

3. Two of Sir Alexander Craufurd's sons are in the ODNB as 'army officers', Sir Charles Gregan Craufurd and Robert Craufurd, as is his brother Quintin Craufurd (q.v.).

1. PROB 11/1304/227

2. Will of James Crokatt merchant of Richmond Surrey proved 18/03/1777 PROB/111029/175.

3. Stephens, H. M. 2008 "Craufurd, Sir Charles Gregan (1761–1821), army officer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 17 Sep. 2018. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-6626; Stephens, H. M. 2008 "Craufurd, Robert (1764–1812), army officer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 17 Sep. 2018. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-6630.

We are grateful to Robin Kealy for his assistance with compiling this entry.